The Sweet History of some Sour Kids

by Laurnie Wilson

A Sweet and Sour Past

The shockingly sour then sensationally sweet taste of Sour Patch Kids is something that everybody knows and that many people love. There’s a certain pleasure in making your way through the sourest initial bite to the chewy, sweet candy beneath. But while everyone would probably be able talk about their feelings for this candy, not everyone would probably know the history behind these little guys. Do you? In this week’s throwback post, the history of the Sour Patch Kids is exactly what we’re going to unravel.

The history of Sour Patch Kids is a relatively young one, just like the adorable little candies themselves. Although the candies were first introduced to U.S. markets in 1985, they were first produced in the late 1970’s in Ontario, Canada. The story goes that they were based on a product called Mars Men, which were created by Frank Galatolie in the 1970’s.

Sour Patch Fads

In the beginning, Sour Patch Kids were shaped as martians, to capitalize on the space enthusiasm of the 70’s. They then transformed into children to capitalize on the Cabbage Patch Kids craze of the 1980s. Regardless of their shape, these “sour then sweet” candies, as the saying goes, were a huge success.

Originally, Sour Patch Kids came in lemon, lime, orange, and raspberry. However, this year, a new berry flavor was added to the bunch. Guess you could say there’s a new kid on the Sour Patch block.

Back in the day, these little guys were produced by M & A Candy Company, which was formed when Allan Candy Company and Malaco Licorice Company combined. Then, in the late 1990s, Sour Patch Kids were acquired by Cadbury-Adams, the company still in charge of these little guys.

International Sour Power

Today, there’s a huge variety of Sour Patch Kids to choose from, on both sides of the pond! There’s Xploders, X-Treme, Fruits, Berries, Xmas Kids, Chillerz, Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, Peach, Cherry, Sour Apple, Bunnies, and Zombies, in addition to the classic flavors. Some flavors are only available in England, where Maynard’s produces the candy. So if you want to get your hands on Sour Patch Kids Soda Popz, or the Halloween themed Heads and Bodies, you’ll have to make a trip to the U.K.

Although fairly young, Sour Patch Kids are one candy that have taken the sweet and sour world by storm. There’s no denying it, they’re perfect for the movies, or a mid-afternoon snack; really any time you need to shock your taste buds into a delicious euphoria.